Cheap, quick, easy: Spring vegetable rice with shrimp

Need to make a quick meal? This simple dish is low on impact and time.

Here's an inexpensive dish that's ready in less than 30 minutes and won't heat up your summer kitchen. Best of all, preparation time is only about five minutes — or just a little longer, if you choose the vegetarian option.

What you'll need

1½ cups of your favorite rice

3½ cups water

1 packageKnorr Spring Vegetable recipe mix

4 ounces frozen cocktail shrimp (See vegetarian option below)

Time Estimates

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 20 min

Total time: 25 min

Preparation

We'll be using a rice cooker to make this a true one-pot meal. Rice cookers are amazingly efficient, and don't dump a lot of heat into your kitchen. Lightly grease the cooking pan with peanut or canola oil.

Combine all the ingredients, stirring gently to ensure that the Spring Vegetable mixture doesn't clump. Cover and turn on the cooker. Depending on its size and wattage, the cooking cycle should be complete in about 20 minutes.

Stir through one teaspoon of peanut oil, garnish with a pinch of sea salt and sesame, and serve immediately.

Yield

2 servings

Vegetarian option

Cube 4 ounces of tempeh (whichever variety you prefer). Optionally, add a clove of chopped garlic and a pinch of grated ginger. Stir fry with about a tablespoon of peanut oil in a hot wok or skillet. Once browned, remove from wok and proceed with the recipe above, omitting the shrimp.